Merman Ahoy!
by Nekogirisu
Summary: A fic based off of Tumblr user Seusuke's prompt: "In which one day Sousuke finds merman!Makoto on the shore and he notices he's injured so he decideds to take him to his home and take care of him until he gets better but hey they fall in love instead." Rated T for the occasional swear word.
1. Chapter 1

**As stated in the description, this story sprang forth from the lovely prompt created by ****Seusuke**** on tumblr. I'm posting the story here due to the fact that even though it's my first fanfiction in two years, I received a lot of support!**

**So I'd like to thank all who have read this story and those who are just reading it now! You've all been a real encouragement! In fact, your support has prompted me to make this a multichapter fic instead of a half finished one-shot. ^_^/**

Sousuke's morning appeared to be anything but normal. In fact, it was straight up odd. Rather than waking up at the usual badgering of his alarm clock at 6:00am, his eyes cracked open at an unusual time of 4:00am. Willing himself back to sleep seemed useless as his legs seemed restless and itching for movement.

So, at the ungodly hour of 5:00, Sousuke found himself in his track suit and running shoes for the first time in 3 years.

Such a situation brought him back to his senior year of high school. The musty smell of a large indoor pool. The Samezuka swim team. Horsing around with Rin, Momo, Nitori.

He was so sure then that he'd become an Olympic swimmer, especially after being scouted. Things change, however, and life often pushes one down an unplanned, sometimes more ominous path.

Not that his path was ominous. He enjoyed his job as a police officer. He helped others and while the typical furrow of his brows and scornful gaze often overtook his face, he enjoyed such a job.

After closing the door of his house to find that his door wouldn't lock, the 25 year old clicked his tongue. More money out of his pocket to fix this godforsaken, poor, rundown excuse of a house he called home.

"Well, I doubt anyone would break into the house of a police officer," he mused aloud as a faint breeze rippled his dark locks.

And so, without much further thought, Sousuke busied himself with the sound of shoes against pavement and the crisp smell of the world after a rainfall.

On instinct, the young adult's legs carried him towards the sea as a small smile rose on his lips. The salty air stung his face. He often used to run here every morning along side Rin, both trying to push themselves harder and best one another.

"Times really haven't changed too much," he then thought. Rin had become an officer as well. Both were pleasantly surprised to meet up at the same police station after being separated during their college years. Now, the two patrolled together. An infamous duo amongst their colleagues. Rin-san, the good cop and Sousuke-san, the bad cop.

Even now they spurred each other to achieve as much as they could in their current job. The pair both aimed for police chief and they're still fighting their way there, pushing and teasing each other city, however, slept peacefully under their watchful gaze.

Before he knew it, Sousuke was puffing, cheeks flushed and lungs completely out of breath. Running along the beach proved rather harsh this morning. A large storm had taken place the previous night. Iwatobi had fallen under the harsh gloom of thunder and lightning. No one was harmed, but the storm was by no means minimal. Large debris washed up on the shore and proved quite difficult to jog around.

A sharp hiss and the faint scent of blood jerked Sousuke from his thoughts.

Narrowing his eyes, he took a stealthy step towards the area from which the sound had come; a jumble of rocks that were jagged and uninviting.

"Who's there?" the officer demanded, his hand unconsciously going for his gun, which was, of course, not there. Damn. He was unprepared for this situation.

Although that was the case, he wouldn't dare to turn tail and run away.

No answer greeted his ears so Sousuke crept closer to the rocks. "I said, who's there and what are you doing on the beach at this time of day?" he growled, his voice much more forceful.

A terrified gasp caught his ears.

Climbing with care on top of one of the larger rocks, Sousuke looked around for the source of that gasp and what he found left him speechless.

There, upon a pile of rocks was something only found in fairytales. A large man, with an upper body that appeared to match his own laid strewn upon the gravel. His wet hair stuck to his scalp, yet it appeared to be an odd brown, almost with a hue of green. Wide, terrified eyes that put emeralds to shame stared up at him.

Yet, as Sousuke let his gaze wander from those eyes, to the man's finely toned back, he came to the most startling feature of all. Instead of legs, there was a tail that looked as it belonged to the lower half of an orca.

A mermaid.

He found a fucking mermaid, or, to be precise, a merman.

Yet as he gazed at the glossy tail further, he found where the scent of blood had come from. A large, still bleeding gash ran from the man's tail fin up to about where his belly button would be.

Locking his gaze back to those green eyes, he saw such a fearful innocence. Briefly, he though of a kicked puppy and sighed.

Slowly climbing down from the rock, Souske padded toward the injured beast carefully. He knew not what such a creature was capable of. His feet came to a halt at the thrash of the bloody tail.

"S-stay back!" the brunet whispered anxiously as if he had no energy to raise his voice. The action caused fresh scabs along the gash to rip open once again.

Blood leaked steadily from the wound and rolled across the rocks, where it finally met the sea and dissipated into nothing.

Sousuke's gaze softened a small bit at such a pathetic sight. He held his hands up in a peaceful gesture. "Woa, there. I mean no harm. I would never dare hurt anyone injured."

Receiving no comment in reply, he crept closer. Gently, a reached out a calloused hand to touch the tail. It felt cool and slippery under his touch.

The action elicited a sharp flinch from the merman.

"Sorry," Sousuke replied and began to take off his track coat and then the white tee-shirt underneath it.

Makoto watched the man remove is clothes, gulping nervously. His eyes caught a brief glance of a well-toned chest. One so ripped a blush grew on his cheeks and he sharply looked away.

How had he ended up like this? He had been swimming with Haruka last night, hunting in the dark waters for any sort of meat to feed their pack. Fish had been scarce and he and Haru didn't even think twice about going out into the storm to provide for their family.

Things had turned out worse than he planned. He and Haru were violently separated. Even now, he could still feel the slip of Haru's hand as it was torn from his. After that, his tumble through the ocean was vague. He knew he was pushed along for a while and was eventually thrown against the rocks of this beach, where he was severely wounded and unable to swim back.

Even then, his predicament felt insignificant as a fierce protectiveness rose up inside his chest. Was Haru ok? Was he wounded as well? Could his blue haired friend find his way back to the pack?

Makoto wished he knew the answer to all those questions.

A sharp pain and a pressure on his tail snapped the merman back to reality. The man who found him had torn his tee-shirt to shreds and was now rapping the pieces around his tail.

Dumbstruck, Makoto stared at him in shock, his mouth agape. "What are you doing?" he managed to choke out moments later.

"What does it look like? I'm wrapping your wound and bringing you back with me. You'll die at this rate," Sousuke grumbled. Makoto fell silent.

Once the tail was wrapped, Sousuke heaved a sigh and gently picked up the merman, who was surprisingly lighter than he had thought. A small "eep!" came from the beast's mouth and he smirked as Makoto grabbed onto his track jacket as though his life depended on it.

Sousuke then began to walk back to his house as Makoto submerged himself into his thoughts once again.

He was honestly at a loss. When he saw that human he was sure he was going to die.

Humans were cruel, after all. They fished the waters until there was nothing left for predators like himself to eat. They feared things unknown to them and thus began experimenting with and killing his species whenever they were caught.

Makoto's thoughts then drifted to the kind old merman in his pack when he was just a child. The one who had taught him that fish were more than food. They could be kept and maintained as pets. He gave Makoto his first ever goldfish, a creature he would surely never forget.

Yet, this kind old man was captured by a human fishing boat and never seen again.

He knew this yet, as he gazed up into the human's blue eyes, sharper than Haru's, but certainly just as deep, he began to relax. This human was different.

He, a hunter who fought for and protected others felt safe and protected himself. It was a feeling he certainly wasn't used to.

Feeling the merman relax in his grip, Sousuke looked down at him and finally opened his mouth after a long 40 minute walk of silence. "What's your name, anyway?" Sousuke asked.

"Makoto. Tachibana Makoto," the merman responded shyly. "And you?"

"Yamazaki Sousuke" he replied gruffly as he kicked open the door to his home. Tachibana Makoto. It certainly had a nice ring to it.

Gently, he placed Makoto into the bathtub and turned on the water. "Wait here for a while. I have a friend who can take a look at that nasty cut."

After receiving a nod, Sousuke turned and walked out of the bathroom. Thank goodness he had woken up so early. No one saw them in the streets as citizens were only just beginning to wake up after a long night's rest.

Picking up his phone, he dialed a number he knew far too well.

"Ah, Senpai! What do you need so early in the morning?" came an airy voice across the receiver.

Sousuke sighed. When would Nitori stop calling him senpai? They had long since graduated. "Sorry to call you so early, but I have something that you need to look at asap."

After a small chat were Sousuke only hinted about what Nitori had to examine, the younger male promised to be at his house by eight. Now he had to call Rin to cover for him.

As he dialed the next number, Sousuke looked up at his ceiling. _"What an odd morning indeed."_


	2. Chapter 2

Makoto gazed up at the white ceiling, his deep green eyes narrowing with anxiety. What was only hours seemed as though it was days. He waited just as Sousuke told him, yet it seemed as though the bathroom door would never open itself again.

Unconsciously, his tail flicked water onto the rather pristine tiled floor. The sudden splash turned his gaze to the water, now a light shade of pink from the blood that was slowly oozing past his bandages.

Had he made the wrong decision to allow the human to take him back to his territory? Sousuke seemed genuinely concerned, but was his judgement clouded from the plain that pulsed from the wound and throughout his body. If he had chose to stay at the beach he would have certainly bled out and died. In that scenario, there would be no hope to find his way back to Haru and the others.

This was the best decision out of the two, but as minutes crept by, Makoto became even more and more concerned.

After what seemed like decades, the small squeak of the bathroom door startled the merman and unsurprisingly, the action drove another wave of water across the floor.

The first human he saw was Sousuke, his face grim as he surveyed his bathroom. Moments later, he stepped aside revealing a young man with baby blue eyes and hair gray like ash.

At the sight of Makoto, those eyes that mirrored the sky grew as big as saucers.

"Eh?!" A surprised gasp escaped Nitori's mouth. He knew he had to patch up a cut, but on this? A merman? Was this some kind of joke?

With his mouth still agape, the shorter male turned to Sousuke, receiving only a shrug of the shoulders. "I found him jogging this morning and since he was cut up pretty bad, brought him back here," the taller said moments later, as if it was completely normal.

Nitori once again turned his gaze dumbly to Makoto and then to the makeshift bandages surrounding him. "I-I can't help you with this. It's a merman! You're acting like he's any old thing you'd bring to the doctor! You need a vet or a marine biologist or...something!" Words spilled out of his gaping mouth as the numbing shock wore off. What was he supposed to do on something inhuman? Something magical no less!

Sousuke sighed. He was expecting this to happen. Placing a reassuring hand on Nitori's shoulder, he locked gazes with the younger man. "None of our friends are marine biologists, nor are they vets. You know I can't take him to an actual place. He'll be taken away and researched. You are the best equipped for this job, so give it your best shot," he sighed.

Nitori could be right. Perhaps he couldn't do anything for the young merman sitting in his bathtub, but at least, it wouldn't hurt to try.

For a long moment Nitori lay silent. Gulping, he turned around to face Makoto. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to try," he whispered, mirroring the sentiment Sousuke had.

He slowly approached the tub, nearly slipping on the tiles and cracking his head on the sink. Finally reaching the small space, well, small for a merman, he put down his medical kit and sat on the wet floor.

Makoto swallowed thickly. If this was the man that was supposedly hear to help him, he'd place his trust in him. As he heard Sousuke say before, the last thing he wants is to be taken away.

"My name is Nitori Aiichirou. Can you understand English? I'm here to try and patch you up," the doctor said shyly, offering a kind yet nervous smile.

Makoto blushed out of shear nervousness. "I-I understand you. My name is Tachibana Makoto and I appreciate your help."

Nitori's smile grew even gentler as he was greeted quite kindly by the merman. "I am glad to help Tachibana-san. I need to unwrap your bandages so see the wound. Doing so may cause it to sting a little."

Makoto nodded and understanding. "Thank you for preparing me. Please go on ahead," he murmured.

Nitori nodded and began unwrapping the blood and water drenched bandages.

Makoto was prepared for a sting. Hell, he was prepared for even a bit more than a sting. What he wasn't prepared for was agony. He hadn't realized that the bandages were applying enough pressure to help dull the pain. When removed, that gentle pressure was not only taken away, but the bandages pealed off the fresh scabs that finally formed, causing blood to flow anew from the deep gash.

Letting a sharp hiss escape his mouth, Makoto flicked his tail in pain, causing water to splash onto the floor for a third time that day. This time, however, the liquid found a new place all over Nitori. Surprised, Nitori had jumped back and slipped onto the floor with a harsh '_thump!_'

"Hey, watch the tail! You're flooding my bathroom," Sousuke growled. Of all the things, the bathroom tile cannot be ruined. It was the only handsome part of the house and he'd be damned if he'd let it grow mold.

"Ah! Sorry! I honestly didn't mean to!" Makoto replied sorrowfully, biting his lower lip. "Are you ok?" he then asked, flicking his gaze to Nitori who was picking himself up off the floor.

"Yeah. I'm fine," he replied, the turning to face Souske. "Senpai! You were worried about your floor more than me," he pouted.

"I never said I had the best priorities," shrugged the officer, a small smirk adorning his face.

Huffing, Nitori turned back to Makoto. Rummaging through his medical kit, he pulled out things very very foreign to the merman. There was a black bottle labeled 'Hydrogen Peroxide' as well as a sharp yet tiny sword that could be held between two fingers. Suspiciously, Makoto wondered what it could be for.

"That is quite a gash, but it isn't deep enough to cause any internal injuries. You do, however, require stitches along the whole wound," explained the doctor, gently cleansing the wound with a wash cloth.

Reaching over to unplug the tub, Nitori picked up the hydrogen peroxide. Meeting the merman's nervous gaze, he smiled. "Don't worry. Hydrogen peroxide helps to clean wounds and thankfully, it doesn't cause any pain. I do, however, need to drain about half the water in the tub for a bit so it can work."

After receiving an understanding nod from Makoto, Nitori poured the clear liquid along the merman's wound. Immediately, bubbly foam sprang from the cut, surprising the finned patient.

Eyes wide, Makoto went to touch the foam, only to receive a jolt of pain from the cut. Retracting his hand, Makoto hissed.

"Ah, the peroxide may not hurt itself, but it doesn't dull the pain of the wound any. That foam you see means it's working. The peroxide foams because it is coming in contact with an enzyme known as catalase, which comes from damaged cells" the doctor explained kindly, brandishing the tiny sword with an odd string attached. When the foam eased, he poured a cup of water along the gash to wash the remaining traces of it away.

"I hadn't thought I would treating a cut of this magnitude, so I hadn't thought to bring a sedative. I would go back home to get some, but I live about half an hour away and to be honest, letting this wound sit for any longer is dangerous. So I need to warn you now. To stitched up a wound, we use a needle and medical thread. Certainly it will hurt," the doctor explained, a serious expression adorning his face as he stared at Makoto.

The merman swallowed thickly. He was no stranger to pain. The open ocean was never a safe place. He'd been cut by metal illegally discarded into the water, had been sliced by the propeller of a fishing boat, had been hunted down by sharks when he though he was hunting them. If this was that sort of pain, he'd grin and bear it. He had been warned, thankfully, so he could brace himself (hopefully better than when the bandage was removed).

With new determination burning in his eyes, Makoto smiled encouragingly down at Nitori. "Thank you for your concern. I will be fine."

Sousuke had watched this exchange silently with his arms crossed and back leaning against the bathroom wall. Catching sight of such a determined smile from Makoto made his heart jump in his throat for reasons unknown to him. Feeling his cheeks burn hot, the officer averted his gaze from the memorizing curve of the merman's lips.

Rubbing a palm against his cheek roughly, Sousuke gave it his best attempt to wipe the blush off of his features. Perhaps the merman was like a siren and exuded charm naturally, or perhaps- _no, he wouldn't think about that. _

"Senpai-"

There was no way he'd have a crush on some one he just met, A mythical creature not less. There had to definitely be a charm.

"Sousuke senpai!"

Snapped from his thoughts, Sousuke looked up in a rather startled manner. "Huh?"

"You were so far out of here, not even Nagisa would have the capabilities to bring you back from space," Nitori snorted teasingly.

"Aha, sorry," Sousuke laughed sheepishly, hoping to distract the doctor from inquiring as to what he was thinking about.

"No need to apologize. I was just wondering if you were willing to help me. I need you to hold onto Tachibana-san's tail. It seems to flounder about with a mind of its own and I need it to be steady to perform such a delicate stitching process.

"Ah, sure," Sousuke replied awkwardly, approaching the bathtub. Sitting down next to Nitori, the taller man took a chance glance at Makoto only to have his eyes lock with the deep green irises of the merman. Both averted their gaze sharply, Sousuke turning his attention to Makoto's tail while Makoto himself seemed to gaze at the ceiling as though it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Right, so...here I go," murmured Sousuke, wrapping his arms around the underside of the merman's tail. Damn, he couldn't seem to break the awkward tension.

"Thanks," smiled Nitori, proceeding to stitch up the base of the tail.

The tail that seriously did have a mind of its own. As the needle poked and prodded the wound, sealing it shut, Sousuke had to hold on for dear life.

Along his arms he could feel the strong twitch and roll of powerful muscle. There was no doubt that even a merman as large as Makoto could propel through the deep ocean at incredibly high speeds.

Stealing a side glance at Makoto once again, Sousuke could see the knit of his brows as he bit his lip, beautiful eyes still glued to the ceiling.

Although he loved the determined smile from the merman he witnessed moments ago, he found that he like this expression too. One that tried its best to show no weakness. Vaguely, he wondered how many expressions often adorned the creature's face daily. How he'd enjoy to see them.

Which is completely normal, by the way. It wasn't a special thought. Anyone would want to study the behavior of a mythical beast.

Or so Sousuke stubbornly believed.

Before long, the officer felt the light touch of Nitori's hand upon his shoulder. "You can let go now. I've finished," he laughed lightly.

Letting out a breath he hadn't known he was holding, Sousuke released the tail which seemed to flick angrily after finally being free.

"How do you even control this thing?" he huffed at Makoto, his gaze flicking back to the wet bathroom tile and then to his soaked pant legs from sitting on said tile.

"Very poorly, as you can see," laughed the merman shyly, following Sousuke's line of sight. Sousuke snorted in reply.

Standing up after putting his tis tools back into the medical kit, Nitori cleared his throat, gaining both Makoto's and Sousuke's attention immediately. "While I cleaned the wound and stitched it up, you are certainly not out of the clear, Tachibana-san. I would like you to keep the water low enough in the tub so that the stitches aren't constantly submerged. Once daily, however, you should gently run soap around the wound and then rinse it off with the shower massage Be sure to dry it carefully afterwards. Sousuke-senpai will help you, I'm sure, as doing all of this yourself would be rather difficult without legs. Do not turn too abruptly or you could cause the stitches to break and the wound to rip open once again."

The merman listened carefully to the man's orders. "I will be sure to follow your instruction as best as I can, Nitori-san. Thank you so much for all you have done," Makoto beamed up at Nitori eliciting a similar smile from the doctor.

"Please, call me Nitori. There's no need for formalities. I'm just glad I could help after all," the doctor laughed, embarrassed.

Honestly impressed with Nitori, Sousuke stood up as well. "How long until Tachibana is free to leave?" he questioned.

"I can remove the stitches in a bout a month and a half," replied Nitori flinching back at the sudden, syncronized outburst from Makoto and Sousuke.

"_A month and a half!?_" both gasped.

"How the hell am I supposed to shower?" Sousuke demanded only to receive an unconcerned shrug from the younger man.

"You brought him home, not me," he reminded smugly. "If he heals faster than a human, he may be able to go even quicker. I'm sure Rin-senpai will let you bathe at his place."

"Yeah, after giving me crap about it," Sousuke sighed while he and Nitori walked out of the bathroom, leaving Makoto to work out his own feelings about the news.

Closing the door with a soft 'click,' the police officer followed Nitori to the door. "Do you think he really will heal faster?"

"How should I know? Perhaps you should try reading up on mermaids."

"Tch. How troublesome," Sousuke growled, scratching the back of his head angrily. "But I appreciate all that you've done today," he added, trying his best to soften his gaze. He really was incredibly thankful. Without Nitori, he'd have to somehow dispose of a rather large merman corpse.

Nitori grinned. "I'm glad I could help after all! Although, be careful. Tachiban-san seems rather sweet, but we don't know anything about merman behavior. Do you plan to leave him alone during the day? I'm pretty sure you have to patrol today as well."

"I got Rin to cover for me today and tomorrow's my day off, but after then, I'll have to. I can't stick around to babysit him," Sousuke grumbled in return. This situation seemed to get more and more troublesome by the second.

"How about-"

"No. Don't tell Momo about this," Sousuke quickly cut Nitori off. "Even if he's free, I'm not leaving him alone in my house nor am I letting him hold onto such delicate information. You know how easily he blabs to others."

He loved his ex-kouhai, he really did. Momo was just far to spastic and clumsy to be allowed in on this secret.

"Alright then," Nitori laughed playfully. "But don't sell Momotaru short. Even he has his moments of greatness- oh, it's getting late, I have to go," Nitori interrupted his thoughts, glancing at his watch which read the time of 9:00am. "I have to head back home to change out of these wet clothes before I head off for my shift at the hospital."

"Right," mumbled Souske, observing Nitori's soaked clothes. Nothing he owned would fit the short man properly. "Well, thank you again. I really mean it."

Nitori glanced back over his shoulder as he walked out the door. "It was no problem at all. I'll send along some painkillers later today."

Sousuke was about to close his door until he heard Nitori gentle voice float across the wind. "By the way, be sure to fix your lock!" he called.

"I will, I will," Sousuke called back lazily and proceeded to finally close his door.

Rummaging around his cupboards for food, Sousuke decided to give himself time to slowly come to terms with todays events.

Unlike the police officer, who still had the company and support of friends, Makoto currently had nothing. As he sat in the half-filled tub in the bathroom, his face grew grim. A month and a half was a long time. An incredibly long time.

That was a month and a half his pack was without his support and the food he hunted for them. A month and a half that his little siblings would think their brother was dead. A month and a half that his parents would grieve for their lost son. A month and a half where he wouldn't know if Haru was safe.

He needed to get back home, if there was one to return to. There was still the possibility that his pack would migrate if the storm devastated the already low fish supplies.

He wished he could do something, but right now, everything seemed useless...

Shaking his head violently to clear away his depressing thoughts. Makoto gazed at his stitches with a newfound determination.

"I will follow Nitori's instructions and heal as soon as possible. Then, I will return home to you Mom, Dad, Ren, Ran, Haru, everyone, and make up for my lost time," he promised aloud, voice barely above a whisper as he gently closed his eyes.

_He will do his best and will persevere._

**OooOoOoOoOoOo**

**This turned out a lot longer than it was meant to be. 0_o**

**Well, anyway, here's chapter 2! I really love the idea of doctor!Nitori a lot! **

**I think the dialogue flowed a bit better than in the previous chapter, though I'd love to hear your opinions! Anything you think I should change or add to the story? This chapter exists solely because of your kindness, encouragement and feedback.**

**If you want me to pursue this story, I'd be happy to write another chapter! I think the next one would have a nice long conversation where Makoto and Sousuke bond a little! They haven't talked too much so far. And of course we need to see Rinrin! 3 **

**Thank you very much for reading! ^u^/**


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